Gila River Indian Community blocks SRP plan

CHANDLER, AZ – Salt River Project believes parts of quickly-growing Chandler will soon require more electricity, but a plan to provide that power has stalled.

The Gila River Indian Community Council voted this week to not allow a right-of-way for part of the power line infrastructure on Gila River land, according to an SRP news release.

The project would go to supply projected increased power needs along the Price Road Corridor, a “five-square-mile area bounded by Chandler Boulevard, Chandler Heights Road, Dobson Road, Price Road and the Gila River Indian Community,” according to SRP.

“SRP is disappointed with [Gila River’s] unexpected decision,” John Coggins, SRP’s senior director of system operations, said in a news release.

The entire project has been controversial as some residents who live along the proposed transmission route off of Gila River land have voiced opposition.

“We want the [lines] in our backyard, as long as they’re under our backyard,” said Laine Schoneberger, who lives adjacent to the proposed route near Ocotillo Rd. and Arizona Ave.

SRP will not bury the lines because that would cost 11 times more than placing them above ground, the utility said on its website.